Hot Topics:

Longmont bookkeeper arrested on theft charges for second time in 2 years

By Mitchell Byars, Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
04/17/2013 02:03:43 PM MDT

Updated:
04/17/2013 08:55:56 PM MDT

Mary Sanders (Boulder County Sheriff's Office)

A Longmont woman charged in 2012 with stealing more than $10,000 in payroll checks from two Colorado-based Burger King franchises was arrested again Tuesday after investigators say she similarly stole more than $17,000 from a Longmont moving company, according to an arrest affidavit.

Mary Sanders, 37, was arrested on suspicion of identity theft, theft between the amounts of $1,000 and $19,000 and violation of the conditions of her bail bond.

According to investigators, a manager with World Wide Moving Systems in Longmont told police she thought Sanders stole from the company while she worked in accounting and human resources from April 28, 2012, to Oct. 31, 2012. Sanders eventually was fired for insubordination and numerous absences.

The manager of the moving company -- whose customers typically pay in cash -- noticed only $30 in cash was deposited in the company's account during the time Sanders was there. Investigators said Sanders deposited an estimated $6,350 in cash and $1,245 in check payments that were intended to be payment to the moving company.

According to the affidavit, Sanders had access to the company's records and removed all entries of payment, meaning there was no record of the exact amount that was supposed to be paid to World Wide Moving Systems.

The investigation also revealed Sanders -- who had access to the company's payroll -- wrote $9,931 in unauthorized payroll checks to herself. She also was working under a false Social Security number and collected $19,000 in unemployment from the state of Colorado. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has now opened its own investigation into Sanders, according to the affidavit.

When contacted by police, Sanders said she did not intentionally steal from her employer before hanging up. The moving company's manager said officials met with Sanders after the investigation began and that she admitted the theft and offered to pay the money back in exchange for the company not pressing criminal charges.

The arrest is Sanders' second on suspicion of stealing from an employer in two years.

In March 2012, Sanders was charged with two felony theft and 16 forgery counts after Gunbarrel Management Services -- which does bookkeeping for two Colorado-based Burger King franchises -- said she stole more than $10,000 while she was a bookkeeper there from June 2008 to December 2011.

According to an arrest affidavit, after Sanders quit, her former boss found multiple payroll checks from one of the Burger King franchises located in Montrose made out to Sanders. An investigation by the company found that Sanders had created a fake employee in the system named Marie Sanchez with the same Social Security number as Sanders. According to the affidavit, the checks appeared in the computer system to be issued to Sanchez, but the actual checks were in Sanders' name.

Sanders was scheduled for a hearing in that case Wednesday, but it was delayed.

Article Comments

We reserve the right to remove any comment that violates our ground rules, is spammy, NSFW, defamatory, rude, reckless to the community, etc.

We expect everyone to be respectful of other commenters. It's fine to have differences of opinion, but there's no need to act like a jerk.

Use your own words (don't copy and paste from elsewhere), be honest and don't pretend to be someone (or something) you're not.

Our commenting section is self-policing, so if you see a comment that violates our ground rules, flag it (mouse over to the far right of the commenter's name until you see the flag symbol and click that), then we'll review it.

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story